Where you (probably) lost your phone

Kate Taylor, 23rd March 2012

People in Manchester, England, are the likeliest in the world to lose their mobile phones; in the US, Philadephians are the doziest.

These are amongst the findings of a report from Lookout Mobile which analyzed data from its 15 million phone users worldwide.

Other risky cities included Seattle, Oakland, Long Beach, California and Newark.

In general, in the US people lose their smartphones about once a year.

"Phones are more often lost at night. Two-thirds of phone loss happens between the hours of 9 pm and 2 am local time. And one of the top places to lose your phone at is a bar or pub – we’ll let you draw your own conclusion as to why!" says the company.

"Coffee shops, offices, bars and restaurants top the list as the most common venues to lose your phone in the US. Unsurprisingly, more phones are lost during festivals and celebrations. During Christmas, more than $11 million dollars worth of phones were lost."

Indeed, during carnivals, residents in Paris lost 72 percent more phones than in a normal week.

With people losing a phone every 3.5 seconds, says Lookout, the cost of lost phones this year is likely to hit $2.5 billion. But it's lost data that's the real cost, the company says, likely to amount to $30 billion this year.

The figures are likely to be a little on the high side. Lookout markets a 'find my phone' app and has drawn its figures from this; and at least some of these 'lost phones' will simply be under the sofa rather than truly lost.